Cruciform male and female connectors



'Dec .'8, 1970 H. E} MULLER 3,545,123

CRUCIFORM MALE AND FEMALE CONNECTORS Filed May 24, 1968 I IN VENTORfimM/v 4? 4 4454 ATTORNEYJ,

United States Patent 10, Int. Cl. A63h 33/10 US. C]. 4629 5 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy construction set comprising a maleconnector including three panels of substantially constant thicknessextending from a core in three intersecting planes and forming a bodywith six sides, each of substantially cruciform outline, an elongatedfemale connector of substantially cruciform cross-section including amain body portion and end means defining an internal space adapted toreceive complementary portions of said male connector to form a frictionjoint. Said end means comprise a plurality of end faces inclinedrearwardly towards the main body portion at angles of substantially 45with reference to the longitudinal axis of the female connector, therebyto avoid interference of said end means with an end means of a similarfemale connector when two such are adjacently joined to said maleconnector. Plates can be fitted between parallel male connectors andconnected thereto by interengageable means on said plates andconnectors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending United States application, Ser. No.391,422, filed Aug. 24, 1964, now abandoned, entitled Joint of SkeletonConstructions and the Like.

The present invention relates to an improved toy construction set,especially capable of being easily used by children to construct a mostvaried and diversified number of structures, either as products of theimagination or as small scale replicas, for instance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an important object of the presentinvention to provide a very simple, inexpensive, easy-to-handle andhighly versatile and simple joint between a male connector and one ormore female connectors, and to construct the connectors in such a waythat each may be readily separated from the other or others in order tobe reassembled in a different way.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedconstruction set toy device which comprises several male and femalebuilding elements or connectors constructed and shaped in such a mannerthat a child may manipulate the connectors without any tools and withoutdetailed instructions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy device and toconstruct the connectors of the joint in such a way that each thereofmay be reused as often as desired, that such connectors maysimultaneously serve as supports for panels, walls and other types ofinserts, and that each male connector may be assembled with one or morefemale connectors.

An additional object of the instant invention is to Patented Dec. 8,1970 provide a joint of the above-described features, whose parts may bemass-produced in plastic at low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toyconstruction set which consists of a minimum of different parts, butnevertheless represents a challenge to an interested child because itsparts may be assembled to form a practically limitless variety ofdifferent assemblies which may be products of pure imagination orminiature replicas of buildings or the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide a self lockingconnection between the male and female connectors of the improved joint.

Now in order to implement these and still further objects of theinvention, which will become more readily apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the inventive toy construction set comprises a male connectorincluding three panels of substantially constant thickness extendingfrom a core in three intersecting planes and together forming a bodywith six sides, each of which is of substantially cruciform outline. Anelongated female connector of substantially cruciform cross-sectionwhich includes a main body portion and end means provided thereon anddefining an internal space of substantially cruciform outline is adaptedto receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body,so that the two connectors form a friction joint. The end means includea plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly to- Wards said main bodyportion at angles of substantially 45 with respect to the longitudinalaxis of said female connector, thereby to avoid interference of said endmeans with an end means of a similar female connector if it is desiredto connect such similar female connector to said male connector adjacentsaid elongated female connector, said end means extending into theregion of said core. The invention further contemplates the provision ofplate members, each of which can be pushed onto an associated femaleconnector. The latter may be advantageously provided with ribs at itscentral region behind which engage nose means provided at eachassociated plate member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION -OF THE DRAWING The invention will be betterunderstood, and objects other than those set forth above, will becomeapparent, when consideration is given to the following detaileddescription thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male connector designed according tothe teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a female connector with inclined endfaces which may be assembled with the male connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a plate member provided for the inventive toyconstruction set; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of male connectors assembled with femaleconnectors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, thereis shown a male connector 1 having six sides 12 of substantiallycruciform shape, whereby each such side resembles a complete Greekcross. This male connector 1 comprises three square panels 3, 4 and 5intersecting each other at right angles at the center or core 6, so thateach panel is subdivided into four rectangular sections 7. Theextensions of the planes of the six cruciform sides 2 constitute thesurfaces of a cube.

The male connector 1 advantageously formed as a solid body may beassembled with a female connector 8, hereinafter conveniently referredto as a rail member or rail, which is best shown in FIG. 2. This rail 8is of substantially cruciform cross section, possessing an internalspace 9 which may accommodate portions of four adjoining sections 7. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the rail 8 is hollow from one end to theother. Both end faces or end means 10 of the rail 8 are identical andinclined rearwardly towards the main body portion 12, thus enabling themale connector 1 to be simultaneously assembled with as many as sixrails 8, whereby interference of the end face is avoided. Furthermore,this rail 8 is preferably of constant wall thickness and thecross-sectional area of its internal space 27 is so chosen that the rail8 must be forced on to the male connector 1 and is then retained withsome friction to provide a more or less permanent connection between theparts. This is particularly desirable if the material of the rail isslightly elastic; for example, the two parts may be manufactured ofpolyvinylchloride or another suitable synthetic plastic material. Themale connector 1 may be assembled with as many as six straight rails,whereby each rail makes an angle of 90 or 180 with any one of the otherrail or rails.

The toy construction set will be furnished with a number of maleconnectors and rails so that the user will be in a position to assemblea variety of constructions in imitation of buildings, cars, furniture,geometrical bodies and others. In the embodiment shown, the angle whichthe rearwardly inclined end faces 10 of the rail 8 enclose with thelongitudinal axis of this rail is 45 degrees. Thus, when two or moresuch rails 8 are attached to the male connector 1, the adjoining railsform what is known as a miter joint. Each of the end faces 10 is flatand lies in a plane. The inclined end faces 10 serve to insure thatadjoining rails 8 cannot interfere with each other when two or morerails 8 are attached to a common male connector 1. In the assembledposition the inclined end faces 10 of adjoining rails 8 are touching oneanother along a line or have only a small gap therebetween.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is shown a male connector 21 whichconstitutes a modification of the connector 1 of FIG. 1. The sections 7are provided with rectangular cutouts 23 so that the remainder of therespective sections form shoulders 24. The wall part 25 (FIG. 2) in theassembled position is supported by the adjacent shoulder 24, so that thepointed ends 26 are not destroyed or deformed.

Such a construction set for children, offers a child a practicallyunlimited possibility to assemble any desired skeleton construction inimitation of full-sized constructions or to assemble buildings, frames,walls figures and other bodies which are products of his or her ownimagination. The construction set may be stored in a small box, bag or alike receptacle, and a large number of different constructions may beassembled with a comparatively small number of male and femaleconnectors. As a rule, the construction set can be furnished with railsof different length.

It is not necessary to use rails which are hollow from one end to theother. Hence, it is oftentimes sufiicient if only the end portions ofthe rails are provided with internal spaces deep enough to accommodatesections of complementary male connectors. However, it is normallypreferred to use rails which are hollow from end to end because suchrails may easily be mass-produced by an extrusion process and becausetheir weight is but a fraction of a solid rail. Thus, in addition tooffering savings in Weight, a hollow rail 8 will enable the producer toresort to presently known machines and to achieve substantial savings inmaterial.

In a toy device, the thickness of a section 7 may be preferably 3millimeters. The height of a panel 3, 4 or is then preferably 16millimeters.

Additionally, as best recognized by referring to FIG. 3,

a plate member 28 can be pushed onto the rails 8, which have ribs 30 intheir middle part. The noses 31 provided at such plate member 28 cansnap behind the ribs 30 and are thereby retained. The four sides of theplate member 28 each have the same length. The border means or skirt 32of the plate member 28 is constructed to be resilient or elastic, sothat it is slightly deformed before the nose 31 arrives behind the ribs30. Plate member 28, border means 32 and noses 31 are preferably formedas a single piece of plastic material. Such plate members 28 can bepushed in the direction of arrow A and/or in the direction of arrow B onthe assembled set.

It should be apparent from the foregoing detailed description that theobjects set forth at the outset to the specification have beensuccessfully achieved. Accordingly, what is claimed is:

1. A toy construction set comprising a male connector consisting of afirst flat panel, a second fiat panel secured to and extending inopposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said firstpanel, and a third flat panel secured to and extending in oppositedirections at right angles from a midportion of said second panel andalso secured at right angles to said first panel, said panels being ofconstant thickness and together forming a body with six sidescorresponding to the six faces of a cube each side being of cruciformoutline; an elongated female connector of cruciform cross-section havinga main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining aninternal space of cruciform outline adapted to receive and frictionallyretain complementary portions of said body so that the two connectorsform a friction joint, said end means comprising a p urality of endfaces inclined rearwardly towards said main body portion at angles ofsubstantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of said femaleconnector, thereby permitting substantial abutment, but avoidinginterference of said end means with an end means of a similar femaleconnector if it is desired to connect such similar female connector tosaid male connector adjacent said elongated female connector, said endmeans each extending into the region of the center of said maleconnector, said panels together forming a plurality of sections whichdefine said six sides of the body of said male connector, each of saidsections being provided with a free corner portion, each said cornerportion having abutment means formed by a cutout area bounded byabutment shoulders, each said shoulder being adapted to abut a portionof a respective one of said end faces provided on the end means of saidfemale connector upon introduction of the respective section of the maleconnector into such end means of said female connector.

2. A toy construction set as defined in claim 1, wherein said male andfemale connectors are formed of synthetic plastic material.

3. A toy construction set as defined in claim 1, wherein said panels arerectangular and of identical size.

4. A toy construction set comprising a male connector consisting of afirst fiat panel, a second flat panel secured to and extending inopposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said firstpanel, and a third flat panel secured to and extending in oppositedirections at right angles from a midportion of said second panel andalso secured at right angles to said first panel, said panels being ofconstant thickness and together forming a body with six sidescorresponding to the six faces of a cube, each side being of cruciformoutline; an elongated female connector of cruciform cross-section havinga main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining aninternal space of cruciform outline adapted to receive and frictionallyretain complementary portions of said body so that the two connectorsform a friction joint, said end means comprising a plurality of endfaces inclined rearwardly towards said main body portion at angles ofsubstantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of said femaleconnector, thereby permitting substantial abutment, but avoidinginterference of said end means with an end means of a similar femaleconnector if it is desired to connect such similar female connector tosaid male connector adjacent said elongated female connector, said endmeans each extending into the region of the center of said maleconnector, said elongated female connector being provided with aplurality of rib means centrally located thereon and of a lengthsubstantially shorter than said female connector, adapted to be engagedby a plate member, at least one plate member mounted at said elongatedfemale connector and engaging with said rib means therefor, said platemember being provided with nose means interengageable with said ribmeans.

5. A toy construction set as defined in claim 4, wherein said platemember includes depending resilient border means which carry said nosemeans.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,737,266 3/1956 Gross 287189.36X

2,799,118 7/1957 Lullo 4631X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,104,412 4/1961 Germany4629 321,043 4/1957 Switzerland 287-18936 F. BARRY SHAY, PrimaryExaminer US Cl. X.R.

